Tuesday 9th October 2012

Yesterday chancellor George Osborne announced the Conservative Party's intentions to make a further £10bn savings on welfare by 2016, which is understood to feature the under-25s restriction and also the end to the automatic right of benefit increases for unemployed families having more children.

In his speech at the Party's annual conference yesterday, Mr Osborne said:

How can we justify giving flats to young people who have never worked, when working people twice their age are still living with their parents because they can't afford their first home?

How can we justify a system where people in work have to consider the full financial costs of having another child, whilst those who are out of work don't?

Homelessness charity Crisis said the proposals to cut housing benefit for under-25s was "irresponsible" and warned that tens of thousands of people simply don't have the option of moving back with their parents, particularly those who have experienced family breakdown, violence or abuse.

However, last night at the conference, Harriett Baldwin, MP, parliamentary aide to new employment minister Mark Hoban, told Channel 4 News that there would be exemptions.She said:

No changes would affect anyone coming out of care and certainly no changes would affect anyone fleeing domestic violence. We need a welfare safety net in this country for people who have had difficult challenges and difficult starts in life.

The point the chancellor was making is a teenager leaving school shouldn't automatically qualify for housing benefit if they've got a parental home where they could live.

What you're trying to do there is send the same signals to young people in working households whose parents would expect to have them at home perhaps past 18.

There are currently 383,650 households who are under 25 on housing benefit in Britain and if everyone in this bracket was disqualified the Government would save £1.88 billion, which is some what short of its £10bn target, warned the Chartered Institute of Housing. Its chief executive Grainia Long said "blanket age-based exclusions don't support growth and they fail the fairness test".

Mike Muir, chief executive of Impact Housing, said if the under 25 restriction applied to those in supported and supported move-on accommodation, then "our whole work with young people would collapse".He said:

If it's just general needs housing for young people who just want to be independent and live on benefits, then of course we wouldn't be encouraging of this; but, young people in this category don't really get any priority for a flat under choice based lettings anyway.

All in all, when you tease it out, it's a good sound bite, but it won't save much of the money they want to save without it having knock-on costs somewhere else in the system.

Fiona Weir, chief executive of single parent charity Gingerbread, said if the proposals were about tackling fraud, the Government should be competent and sort it out.She said:

The vast majority of people on benefits are desperate to get a job. Certainly single parents we speak to - 9/10 are desperate to get into work and they're highly motivated to do so.

They're sick of all this language about hard working strivers versus people on benefits.

By Support Solutions

Related articles

30 Aug

RECENT ANALYSIS FINDS THAT THE HELP TO BUY SCHEME HAS ADDED TO THE INFLATION OF HOUSE PRICES

The analysis of the Help to Buy Scheme revealed the following:The chief executive of Paradigm Housing Group, Matthew Bailes, said:" ... clearly, it worked well for developers, and for providers, it...

By Abimbola Duro-David

22 Aug

A NORTH WALES COUNCIL REVEALED THEIR WAITING LIST FOR NEW HOMES HAS REACHED BREAKING POINT

The north Wales Council revealed their waiting list for new homes has reached "breaking point".According to Clare Budden, Flintshire Council's community enterprise chief officer said:"There are...

By Abimbola Duro-David

17 Aug

HOMELESSNESS POLICY IS UNDER REVIEW IN A NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL

Kettering Borough Council has amended its letters to homeless residents to let them know of their right to request a temporary accommodation review.According to an ombudsman, Michael King:"People in...

By Abimbola Duro-David

15 Aug

FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS HAVE CAUSED THE CLOSURE OF MANY CHILDREN AND YOUTH CENTRES

Local Government Association (LGA) made the following findings:Chair of the LGA's children and young people board, Richard Watts, said: "The reality is that services for the care and protection of...

By Abimbola Duro-David

11 Aug

RESIDENTS OF BUILDINGS IN LEDBURY ESTATE, SOUTHWARK, SOUTH LONDON WILL BE MOVED OUT TEMPORARILY

The buildings in Ledbury Estate in Southwark have been constructed in a similar way to Ronan Point, a tower block in Newham which collapsed in 1968 as a result of a gas explosion, killing three. An...

By Abimbola Duro-David

10 Aug

THERE IS A DECLINE IN THE HOUSING MARKET IN LONDON AND OTHER PARTS OF THE SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) made the following findings:Chief Economist at Rics, Simon Rubinsohn:"Sales activity in the housing market has been slipping in the recent month...

By Abimbola Duro-David

07 Aug

REPORT FINDS THAT PEOPLE ARE INTENSELY SUFFERING FROM LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOMES IN SCOTLAND

According to the report by "Shelter":Shelter's deputy director, Alison Watson, said:"This report shows the disproportionate impact of Scotland's housing crisis on young people and private renters who...

By Abimbola Duro-David

02 Aug

NEW REPORT BY THE PUBLIC ACCOUNT COMMITTEE IN WALES COMMENDS HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

The report which was put together after nine months of inquiries stated the following:Nick Ramsey, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:"Generally, we found governance and regulation within...

By Abimbola Duro-David

31 Jul

LONDON COUNCIL URGES THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE MEASURES TO END LETTING FEES FOR PRIVATE RENTERS

The London council say urgent action is needed because the government has not provided "a clear timescale to introduce its own measure", Letting Agent Today, reports.Last year, the government had...

By Abimbola Duro-David

17 Jul

A NEW SCHEME HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO DEVELOP ARTHUR STREET ESTATE IN LONDON

Wates Residential will help to deliver Orbit's proposed £73m regeneration of an estate in London, after their success with making Larner Road an award winning, 40,000-home, Erith Park, Bexley.Within...

By Abimbola Duro-David

Support Solutions 5th National Housing Support & Social Care Conference 2014
Good organisation from beginning to end. Excellent keynote speaker. Relevant and important topics for discussion which were to everyone's advantage within the supported housing sector.
B.H - Stevenage Haven